Corey found guilty of first-degree murder

WORCESTER — A jury has found Julie A. Corey guilty of murdering Darlene Haynes in her Southgate Street apartment in 2009 and cutting the unborn baby from the pregnant victim's womb.

The jury of six men and six women convicted Ms. Corey of first-degree murder Wednesday afternoon under all three of the prosecution's theories of the crime: that the killing of 23-year-old Ms. Haynes was premeditated, that it was committed with extreme atrocity or cruelty, and that it occurred during the commission of a felony, aggravated kidnapping, that carries a life sentence.

Ms. Corey, 39, who wept when the verdict was announced shortly after 3:30 p.m. in a packed Worcester Superior Court courtroom, is facing a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Judge Janet Kenton-Walker postponed sentencing until Feb. 18 and ordered that Ms. Corey remain in custody without bail until then.

The verdict came after about 9 1/2 hours of jury deliberations over two days.

The decomposed body of Ms. Haynes was found on July 27, 2009, in a bedroom closet in her second-floor apartment at 94 Southgate St. She was eight months pregnant at the time of her death, and the victim's fetus and reproductive organs were missing when her body was discovered by her landlord.

An autopsy determined that she died from multiple blunt head trauma with skull fractures, asphyxiation by an electrical cord found wrapped around her neck and a 9-inch incision in her abdomen.

Two days after the discovery of Ms. Haynes' body, Ms. Corey and her boyfriend, Alex J. Dion, showed up at a homeless shelter in Plymouth, N.H., with a newborn baby girl Ms. Corey said was her daughter. DNA testing later determined that Ms. Haynes was the child's biological mother and her former boyfriend, Roberto C. “Tito” Rodriguez, was the father.

Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Bennett introduced evidence during the 10-day trial that Ms. Corey was the last person to be seen with Ms Haynes alive, having given her a ride to a package store on the night of July 23, 2009. Two bottles of malt beverage that were bought by Ms. Haynes were recovered by police in her apartment after the discovery of her body.

One of the bottles had Ms. Corey's fingerprint on it and the other her DNA on it.

Ms. Corey's lawyers, Louis P. Aloise, Michael C. Wilcox and Christine M. Martin, did not dispute that their client was found with Ms. Haynes's baby, but maintained she played no part in the killing. They asserted a so-called “third party culprit” defense suggesting that Mr. Rodriguez killed his ex-girlfriend and turned the baby over to Ms. Corey.

The defense team also faulted police for allegedly failing to follow up on leads they said could have led them to Ms. Haynes' killer or killers.

Mr. Rodriguez, who was charged with assaulting Ms. Haynes about a month before she was killed, denied any involvement in the slaying when questioned by police. He was never charged in connection with Ms. Haynes' death and now has custody of the 4-year-old girl.

Ms. Corey had been pregnant, but apparently had a stillbirth several weeks before Ms. Haynes was killed. Mr. Dion said Ms. Corey called him several times from late on the night of July 23, 2009, into the next morning, first telling him that her water had broken and she was on her way to a Framingham hospital and later saying she had given birth to a baby girl. She arrived home later that morning with a newborn Mr. Dion said he believed was his daughter.

“I feel comfortable that justice was done for Darlene,” Ms. Haynes' uncle, Karl Whitney of Palmer, said of the verdict. At the same time, he said, he felt sorry for Ms. Corey's family.

“ I just can't imagine going through something like that with one of my children,” Mr. Whitney said.

District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said at a press conference later in the day that the jurors returned “a fair, just and right verdict” in the case. He praised the prosecution team of Mr. Bennett and Assistant District Attorneys Terry J. McLaughlin and Elizabeth Brennan for their efforts.

“There wasn't any luck here. It was just hard work,” the district attorney said.

He also lauded the work of the Worcester Police Department detectives who investigated the case.

“They did hard work, boots to the ground, good and great police work, to help us get this conviction,” Mr. Early said.

“We are obviously disappointed with the verdict,” Mr. Wilcox said.

He said the defense would ask that a lawyer from the state Committee for Public Counsel Services be appointed to identify any issues that might be raised on appeal.

"The reality of life without parole is just setting in," def lawyer Mike Wilcox said about Julie Corey's emotion after verdict.